ARSIS’ WE ARE THE NIGHTMARE IS NOT A NIGHTMARE, MORE LIKE A WET DREAM
How to describe what Arsis do — blackened death metal? Technical melodeath? Progressive euro-black? Really, who the fuck cares, because whatever the hell Arsis are doing on We Are the Nightmare is working really fucking well. Sweep-picked arpeggios and some of the fastest and most involved drumming I’ve ever heard lead the way, but the technical prowess never trips over itself nor is it over the top or too egomaniacal. Instead, it fits right into beautifully crafted arrangements that always stay brutal but somehow manage to come together as complete songs.
Imagine your favorite classic death metal or black metal song played in 16th notes instead of quarter notes but at the same tempo. If you’re not a musician, that probably won’t make much sense to you; and really this is music created by “musicians’ musicians” for musicians’ musicians. But the songs are so cohesive that by no means are musicians the only ones who should be able to enjoy it — all songs weave in an undeniable sense of melody, yet all but one clock in at the 4 minute mark, plus or minus.
Arsis deliver hooks by way of the catchy riff method; the guitar lead in the chorus of “Failing Winds of Hopeless Greed” is fucking fantastic, an instant classic. Ditto for the title track. T crushing brutality of “A Feast For the Liar’s Tongue” is another highlight for me.
And then there’s the production. In a sea of metal albums these days that all sound the same this one really stands out in the best of ways. The band sounds raw but clear, a balance that is oh so hard to strike, particularly in the uber-tech death metal and lo-fi-for-the-sake-of-making-my-brain-hurt black metal scenes. Arsis may straddle both types of music, but their production straddles neither. The drums and guitar sound raw and for the most part untreated, yet they are perfectly clear and still manage to pack a brutal punch. The vocals are nestled neatly behind the guitars and drums (rightly so; the vocals are clearly not the focus here), but unfortunately the bass is completely buried, my only complaint. And it’s too bad — when we interviewed bassist Noah Martin he was a super-nice and hilarious dude, surely unworthy of the Jason Newstead …And Justice For All treatment.
One of my favorite albums of the year so far, and I’ve barely listened to it twice through. Highly recommend.
-VN
[Arsis on MySpace]
[Buy We Are the Nightmare
